King niece angry at Tiller-MLK comparison

Julia Duin

A comparison made Monday between the assassination of Martin Luther King and the murder of late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller has one relative of the slain civil rights leader outraged.

Alveda King, a notable pro-life advocate and Martin Luther King's niece, lashed out to The Washington Times about comments made by Dr. Tiller's friend and colleague, Dr. LeRoy Carhart.

"This is the equivalent of Martin Luther King being assassinated," Dr. Carhart said Monday of the May 31 slaying of one of America's best-known late-term abortion providers. He also said protesters planting crosses was equivalent to actions by the Ku Klux Klan.

"For LeRoy Carhart to mention the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who worked through peaceful and non-violent means, in the same breath with that of George Tiller, whose work ended peace and brought violence to babies in the womb, is offensive beyond belief," she said. "The analogy is just wrong."

Ms. King has called abortion a "racist, genocidal act."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, blacks have a much higher rate of abortions than any other race. In 2000, blacks made up 17 percent of live births but the share of abortion was more than twice that at 36 percent.

In his words Monday, Dr. Carhart also denounced pro-life protesters as hate criminals.

Dr. Carhart also speaks of hate crimes, Ms. King added. I would simply ask him, is it not hateful to regard an entire class of people as non-human because theyre unwanted?